Indians score 14 runs in rout of Syracuse Chiefs

The Indianapolis Indians banged out 19 hits in a 14-6 win over the Syracuse Chiefs on Sunday at Indianapolis.

Indians shortstop Chase d’Arnaud led the way with three hits, including two doubles, and five RBIs. The loss was the second in a row for the Chiefs after a three-game win streak.

The Indians (33-23) plated a first-inning run against Syracuse right-hander Mitch Atkins courtesy of a Starling Marte double and Jeff Larish run-scoring single. The single was one of three hits for Larish in the game.

In the second inning, the Indians scored two more runs in small-ball fashion. Anderson Hernandez led off the inning with a single before stealing second base. After Atkins recorded a pair of outs, Alex Presley walked. The two runners advanced one base each on a double steal, and shortstop Chase d’Arnaud singled them both home with a line drive to left field, giving Indianapolis a 3-0 lead.

Syracuse (26-30) touched up Indians starter Daniel Cabrera for two runs in the third inning. With two outs and Jim Negrych on second base, Corey Brown blasted a run-scoring double to right field on a 2-2 pitch. Left fielder Erik Komatsu followed with a single on another 2-2 pitch, scoring Brown to cut the Indianapolis lead to 3-2. The base hit was Komatsu’s first in 11 at-bats with Syracuse.

After the Indians added a run in the bottom of the third inning with a Jose Morales RBI double, Indianapolis broke the game open in the fourth. Atkins walked Cabrera, the opposing starting pitcher, before Presley clobbered a two-run home run to right field, extending the lead to 6-2 and knocking Atkins out of the game. Right-hander Austin Bibens-Dirkx entered in relief, but the Indians continued their surge with run-scoring singles from Larish and Hernandez later in the inning.

Down 8-2, the Chiefs rallied to bring the tying run to the plate in the sixth. Komatsu walked to lead off the inning and Tyler Moore singled with one out. Xavier Paul then slashed a single to center field, scoring Komatsu for the Chiefs’ third run. Cabrera was removed for right-hander Duke Welker, who walked Carlos Rivero and struck out pinch-hitter Brett Carroll. But with two outs, catcher James Skelton drilled a two-run single to center field, cutting the lead to 8-5. Welker would recover to strike out Jarrett Hoffpauir with two runners aboard.

The Indians then put the game out of reach with a pair of seventh-inning runs against right-hander Pat Lehman. Pinch-hitter Jake Fox doubled home Hernandez for the first score of the frame, and two batters later, Marte plated Fox with an RBI single.

Indianapolis added four more runs in the eighth inning. Yamaico Navarro singled home Brandon Boggs for the inning’s first run, and d’Arnaud clobbered a three-run double to unload the bases to close the Indianapolis scoring.

Pinch-hitter Jeff Howell grounded in Hoffpauir with a fielder’s choice in the ninth inning for the game’s final run.